


It's Like the Sun Came Out

by Aceofstars16



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brother Feels, Brotherly Love, Fishing, Gravity Falls Spoilers, Other, Stan O' War, Stan O' War II, Young Stan Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 12:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16555763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: Stan has always liked fishing, but his favorite part of it was always hanging out with his brother so the joy it it faded many years ago. But time has a way of fixing things.Inspired bythis post on tumblr





	It's Like the Sun Came Out

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr post](http://aceofstars16.tumblr.com/post/179881110853/its-like-the-sun-came-out)

Stan hadn’t been living in Gravity Falls too long, but when he heard about the lake, he felt a strong desire to check it out. Memories played in the back of his mind, of sitting on the pier, trying to catch any fish that dared come close. Granted, they never had bought the empty hook, but Stan always tried. And Ford had always been there, sitting next to him, usually reading a book, but the slight pressure on his back as his brother leaned against him was so peaceful. Legs swinging back and forth on the dock, quiet mutterings close to his ear.

Closing his eyes, Stan could almost hear his brother again, the lapping of the lake almost transformed into the waves of the ocean. If he focused, he swore he felt Ford tapping his shoulder, ready to show him one of the curiosities in his nerd book.

“Hey, Mister, you going to fish or just sit?”

Shocked back into the present, Stan opened his eyes and looked up at a kid he didn’t know – but then again he didn’t know anyone here, not really. He swung his legs back and forth on the dock once more then shook his head and stood up.

“I’m going.”

“Oh I didn-“

Stan didn’t hear the rest of the kid’s words. He couldn’t deal with other people right now, especially not kids, not when he had almost felt like a kid again. Almost.

Walking along the edge of the lake, Stan tried to push away the past, focusing instead on what to do now. How to keep up the Murder Hut, how to fix the portal, how to find more journals. Those questions had been hovering over him for months now, but the only one he felt somewhat confident in was running the Hut. At least his sale skills actually seemed to be helping him. But they couldn’t help him understand all of the scribblings in Ford’s book. He would just have to keep trying.

A quiet bonking interrupted Stan’s thoughts and he looked up to see a boat. But no one was in it, in fact, it was half broken, only part of it was above water. Whoever had owned it obviously thought it wasn’t worth saving. Stan knew better.

Pulling it out of the water was a task, but it wasn’t impossible, and as he looked at the half-rotted wood and the splinters in his hand, Stan felt a weigh grow on his chest.

“It won’t sail around the sea but…maybe we can fix it up to go fishing.” He muttered to himself, or maybe he was saying it to Ford. Even though his brother was still lost. But he’d find him, he’d get him back and then they could go fishing again.

The next few days, Stan took an hour or so each day to fix up the little boat, and each day as he looked at the progress, he felt a stab of sadness. It was so much like those days on the beach all those years ago, minus the salt water, the sunburns, and Ford. But one thing was the same, the scrawled-out name on the side of the boat – The Stan O’ War.

And, then, after a few weeks, it was fixed. No, it wasn’t pretty, but it would get the job done. The only problem was, Stan didn’t have anyone to fish with, and he wasn’t any closer to fixing the portal. But maybe he could find a replacement until Ford was back. And he tried. He would ask around on his off hours, and once or twice a few people fished with him, but then they would never go out with him again. So much for a fishing buddy.

Years passed and fishing lost its appeal. Yeah, Stan still went out from time to time, but it was only to make sure the Stan O’ War was doing okay and to try and clear his head from all of the frustrations of the portal. It wasn’t fun anymore.

Until the kids showed up.

Of course, at first, they didn’t want to fish. They wanted to run off and hunt monsters – man they would’ve gotten along with Ford – but then they had come back. For the first time in years, he had fishing buddies again, and for the first time, Stan found himself enjoying the sport again. But then as they came back to the Mystery Shack, he saw Mabel and Dipper running around, so close, the best of friends, and the joy of the day turned into a thorn of loneliness. The kids didn’t know everything about him, their parents thought he was Stanford. He was just a fraud. And his twin was still gone. At this point, the hope of ever getting him back was minuscule. It had been thirty years. Soon, Stan wouldn’t be able to keep up the search, his body would give out eventually, with or without finding his brother. And every time he saw the kids, he was reminded of what he had lost, and how desperately he wanted it back.

Then, despite all odds, he had him back. Ford, his brother. Sure, there had been some…arguments, but those wounds had faded and their bond had been renewed, almost as strong as before, maybe even stronger.

“Catch anything?”

Stan glanced over his shoulder as his brother walked across the deck of the Stan O’ War II, hands in his pockets.

“Nah, we are too far out for anything.” It was silly, but Stan still found comfort in fishing, even when he didn’t catch anything. In some ways, not catching anything was more familiar than catching something.

“Mind if I join you in not catching anything?

A smile grew on Stan’s mouth. “Bring one of your nerd books to read?”

Ford’s smile matched Stan’s as he pulled out a book. “Like old times?”

“Just as long as you don’t talk to much, it’ll scare the fish away.” Stan grinned as Ford laughed.

“I’ll be as quiet as the Hide Behind, don’t want to scare away those no-existent fish after all.”

Then a slight pressure hit Stan’s back, just like on the pier all of those years ago. Yeah, nothing could beat fishing with your brother.

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished Gravity Falls for the first time and I have so many feelings, especially because the fandom isn't as active anymore, but I still love reading headcanons/fics/looking at art and trying to write fics for it. I really want to write a long fic for it, but for now...I just had to write something short and sad with a happy ending *flops*


End file.
